Historic St. Paul's Cathedral celebrating 120th anniversary on Easter Sunday

The celebration at a historic downtown church will be especially jubilant on Easter Sunday, March 31.

St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral will celebrate Easter, the day Christians commemorate Christ's resurrection. The congregation also will mark a major milestone — its 120th anniversary of worshiping at 127 NW 7 in downtown Oklahoma City.

Sarah-Emily Steinhardt, the church's communication's minister, said St. Paul's was founded in 1891 in downtown Oklahoma City. She said the congregation's first building was constructed in 1893 at 219 NW 2 and the congregation began meeting at NW 4 and Broadway in 1901.

Church members celebrated the establishment of St. Paul's Cathedral on Easter Sunday, April 4, 1904, at the house of worship's current location. Steinhardt said the cathedral is the spiritual center of the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma.

The Rev. Katie Churchwell, dean of St. Paul's, said church leaders and parishioners over the years have committed to remaining at the corner NW 7 and Robinson Avenue. She said the church currently has 1,200 members.

"The cathedral’s story is downtown Oklahoma City’s story through our shared highs and lows," Churchwell said. "We take seriously our role as a cord that binds Oklahoma City."

St. Paul's members took an opportunity to browse through church scrapbooks and reminisce about the church's history after recent Palm Sunday services. Karen Meites, the church archivist, organized the collection of scrapbooks featuring photos, bulletins and mementoes from Easter, Palm Sunday and Holy Week at the church over the last 120 years, while Stephanie Jensen prepared a digital slideshow.

Churchwell said more fellowship and looking back will take place on Sunday.

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"We'll have our regular Easter egg hunt after the nine o'clock service, but in addition to that, we're having a blowout celebration to celebrate both the resurrection of Jesus Christ and our 120th anniversary," she said.

The egg hunt and reception will be at 10:10 a.m. and worship services will be 7 a.m., 9 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. Steinhardt said in keeping with St. Paul's Easter Sunday tradition, parishioners will be encouraged to pose for photos outside the church after each service.

'Chosen to stay'

Churchwell, who became St. Paul's first female dean in 2020, said while looking at historic church documents, she quickly noticed a pattern of thinking among the leadership and congregation.

"One of the things I've just been reflecting on is the consistency and intentionality with which this congregation has really given to its place on the corner of 7th and Robinson," she said.

"Throughout all of the busts and booms of Oklahoma City, there were multiple times when people left downtown and sort of went out elsewhere. I've gone and reflected back on past vestry minutes from right after the Depression to even more recently in the 1980s and early 1990s, and it's clearly indicated in our minutes the leadership at the Cathedral have intentionally chosen to stay in this community."

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The cathedral's historic importance was recognized in 1977 when the church building was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Almost two decades later, St. Paul's was one of several churches heavily damaged by the Oklahoma City bombing. Churchwell said the congregation was unable to worship in its sanctuary for more than two years due to the destruction wrought by the blast.

She said cathedral leaders' showed great fortitude in their determination to remain at the historic church site in the downtown. The spiritual leader said the first Episcopal cathedral for Oklahoma, called the Territorial Cathedral, was located in Guthrie. Churchwell said in 1908, Episcopal leaders decided that St. Paul's would become the diocese's new cathedral.

"In layman's terms, every Episcopal Diocese has one cathedral, and it serves as the beacon for every Episcopal church in that diocese," she said. "The diocese very intentionally selected St Paul's to be its cathedral, in large part, for its enduring presence already in Oklahoma City. Really, what that means is that not only are we a parish for our people who go to church here, but we are also the cathedral for every Episcopalian, and we consider ourselves the cathedral for the city."

Churchwell said she doesn't expect this to change.

"While we're certainly in what I would call a boom time with the explosion of businesses and restaurants and attractions in downtown Oklahoma City, St. Paul's is committed to a lasting presence here," she said.

"It's been that way for 120 years, and I would imagine it will remain that way for the next 120 years."

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral in Oklahoma City to mark 120 years